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JUN2009
SCRIPTURE - Psa 51:11-12 JUNE, 2009
Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
SUBJECT - THE IMPORTANCE OF THE HOLY
SPIRIT!!
This month, and for the next month or so, I will be addressing a subject that, even though I have been in ministry for over 30 years, I have not gone in to great detail on, and that is the Holy Spirit.
Yes, I have mentioned Him in messages, and sermons, but I have not, endeavored to look at Him, in a personal way, meaning I have not tied our walk as Christians, to the need of having the Spirit of God, not only living in us, but actually guiding us through life’s ups and downs.
We often talk about the power that the Spirit has given us, but we are only looking at part of the attributes we inherit, when He comes to dwell in us. There is more to Him, than 'speaking in tongues’and endewing us with power to do supernatural things. In fact, I would say, that if we don’t have a full understanding of what He does make available to us, we won’t see much of the things we claim He can do.
All of us, can look at the book of Acts, chapter 2, to see the actual introduction of the Holy Spirit, to the new testament saints, which is the actual beginning of the Church, the entity that God had anointed to be His representative, here on earth. The Holy Spirit, was God’s seal of approval of what Christ’s finished work had accomplished, and the source of power for it[the Church]. Therefore, a Church, without the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, is no Church at all. It is just a place where people come together to associate. It is much the same way as an electrical appliance that you have in your house that is not connected to the electrical outlet. It may look nice, but it can’t accomplish what it was designed to do. It can only do what it was designed to do, when it is connected to electricity.
Now, there are many teachings on the Holy Spirit, and you have probably heard or read at least 1 of them, and I won’t be addressing them in detail. What I want to look at, is an
attribute that many Christians have given little or no thought to, but is ‘key’, to our having a victorious life. And that is allowing us to see every situation through the eyes of God.
In these days and times, with all of the problems we face, with the economy, the swine flu, the path this nation is on, terrorist activities, global warming, increases in crime, and other things that, given the scope of things that we face, is enough to cause people to go in to depression or worse.
One only has to look at the news, where everything is negative. People, usually men, are killing their entire families, kids included, and then themselves because of job loss, loss of home, or whatever, show the full range of the effects of ‘current events’.
In order to cope with all of this, people are seeking all sorts advice, from psychologists, economists, and other experts. But, even with the best intentions, their advice, is given, with the disclaimer of, ‘No one can know what will happen tomorrow.’ This means, their advice, may help you feel better about your situation, but, it may not improve it.
What all of this really means is, ‘while the ship is sinking, what you are being advised to do, is hold on, and hope for the best.’
This is the best these experts can come up with. And, in too many instances, it proves to be, not enough.
But, there is One Expert, who, not only can advise you on what to do, but, and this is a big ‘BUT’ actually can control not only the present situation, but, what happens tomorrow.
Of course, I am talking about God.
Many will acknowledge God, and even Jesus Christ, the Son
of God, as being in control of everything. But, there is One that is seldom mentioned, One, who is here with us, to advise,
lead, and guide us through, what we are facing, and what is yet to come, so we can prepare, and be victorious. That One, is the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit.
Jesus described the work of this, third person of the Godhead, thusly, John 14:16-17 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
The job of the Holy Spirit, is to equip His saints, with the one thing that will get us to, and keep us in, the position of showing the world that God is real, and that He really is in control. And that one thing is wisdom.
Whether you speak in tongues, or not. Whether you can show miracles, or not. Even if you have great faith, or not. If you don’t have wisdom, God’s Wisdom, then, you are a train wreck, waiting to happen, PERIOD.
Why would I say this?? Because it is true. I don’t care how much you love God, or how many of the ‘gifts of the Spirit’ manifest themselves in your life, you can do more damage to the ‘kingdom’ than you realize, by the things you say, and do, if you are not being guided by Wisdom.
Have you ever heard a person, claiming to be Spirit filled, curse someone out, for bumping in to them, or saying something to them they didn't like?? How many times have you heard someone say, ‘If that is an example of what a Christian is about, I want no part of Christianity!!’
All of this, is the result of a lack of, not knowledge, but wisdom. Wisdom, that, if the person had been guided by the Holy Spirit, they would have been looking at themselves, and the situation that caused them to act the way they did, through the eyes of God, and seen the ‘big picture’ and thus acted totally different, which would have brought glory to God, which is what the Church is supposed to be doing.
If you look at the subject scriptures, you will see, first, they come from the old testament, so even back then, David, was aware of the importance of the Spirit of God.
In his plea to God, not to take His Spirit, from him, he knew that His Spirit was needed to uphold him, and provide the Joy that he had in God. He also was aware, that, without it, He would be totally miserable, and would not be able to survive.
There is a song that we sing in the Church today, that reflects
what David meant, and it goes like this. ‘Without Him, I could do nothing. Without Him I’d surely fail. Without Him I’m like a ship, on the ocean without a sail.’ Even back then, David knew the importance of the Holy Spirit.
Yet today, most of the Church world, especially in this country, have little or no knowledge, of the importance of the Spirit of God. When we talk about having Jesus, living on the inside of us, we are actually talking about the Holy Spirit.
In the above scriptures of St. John, Jesus said the Father would send ‘another Comforter.’ He did not say the Father would send, Him back. However, as the bible says, the Holy Spirit, is not here to glorify Himself, but to support and glorify, Christ. However, this third person of the Godhead, is so important, that Jesus warns us, Mat 12:31-32 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man[Jesus], it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.
Well, with that being the introduction, I will, next month, begin to show you just how important the Holy Spirit is, in these days in which we live.
When David, asked the Lord, not to take His Spirit from him, he was really afraid of what would happen to him, without it. And, back then, the Holy Spirit, did not live in David, or any other human, because man’s condition, of being wicked, ungodly, and unregenerated, was unfit for Him to dwell within. Back then, His Spirit, spoke to him, through His mind. Or, if you will, as a friend that walked with him, and directed him.
Today, because of the finished work of Christ, those of us that are saved[born again], have become fit, for the Spirit of God, to dwell on the inside of us, to not only direct and guide us, but to empower us, to live the lives God wants us to live, and be examples of how those that follow God’s direction, can overcome any situation that confronts them.
We don’t have to worry about God taking His Spirit from us, as much as our actions, such as ignoring His directions, causes Him to stop advising us.
You see, the Holy Spirit’s first job, is to begin making us aware of our own inadequacies[i.e. our sin nature]. Just because we accepted Christ, and were born again, our #1 enemy, is still with us, and that is not the Devil. Our #1 enemy is something that will hound us until the day we die. Our #1 enemy is our flesh. And He warns us about its tendencies to want to be pleased. However, you can either listen to the Spirit, or ignore Him. And, if you continue to ignore Him, then He will cease speaking to you.
More on this subject, next month.
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